Nourishing a Broken Heart
by quarteralien
Summary: Just a little post-Kathy angst. Updated with author's note.


"Tell me something." Chandler said, looking around what was now the girls' apartment. "Why isn't the long couch aimed at the TV like it was across the hall? Shouldn't you maximize space for TV watching? I thought for sure you would try to completely recreate what you had over there."

"That's just the way it fit over here. And believe me, I worked it out." said Monica as she worked on popcorn.

Chandler snorted. "You probably spent days measuring and mapping out. But it didn't work. This layout is all wrong. I'm going back to my place."

Rachel threw up her hands. "Alright, Chandler, if you really really don't want to be with us tonight, go ahead."

"Gee, Rach," Chandler returned in mock chagrin. "I'm sorry I dragged you out of your comfy chair in your nice apartment to watch a chick flick you didn't want to see in a vain attempt to pull you out of your own misery. Wait, wait," he cupped his chin. "Something's not right with that scenario…"

"Off you go then," Rachel said dismissively. "I'm going to spend some quality time with Julia Roberts and her best friend."

"Thank you." Chandler turned to leave and ran into Monica's hand.

"Not so fast, Bing. We got you this far, I'm not giving up so easily."  
"WHY?" Chandler used his whiniest voice.

"Come on, Chandler. We haven't seen you in days. We miss you. Even Rachel misses you." Monica added, with a glare in Rachel's direction. She took Chandler's arm and guided him to the couch. Rachel rallied back to her post and sat on his other side. Monica plopped the bowl of popcorn in his lap, effectively anchoring him between the two of them. With a long suffering sigh, he resigned himself to 90 minutes of wedding hijinks.

Despite her earlier enthusiasm, Rachel began nodding off an hour into the movie. The third time her head hit the back of the couch, she startled awake and said "You know what guys, I give up. Glad you came, Chandler."  
"Night, Rach." They chorused as she made her way to bed. Monica watched Chandler, expecting him to make his own excuses and retreat to his own apartment. Instead he kicked his feet up onto the couch and stretched along its length, draping himself across Monica's lap so he could lay his head on the armrest. She looked down at him with raised eyebrows. "Maximizing your TV viewing?"

"Don't mind if I do." He smiled with a hint of his old self, and for just a moment it was like old times. Monica adjusted herself, one arm slung across Chandler's stomach and the other behind his head, where her fingers absently ran through his hair.

Soon enough credits were rolling and Monica saw a deep frown on Chandler's face. "That's not how it's supposed to end." he said, disturbed. "Isn't the main character supposed to get her dream guy? Isn't every conflict supposed to be all in the name of the greater good? Don't we watch these things because it makes us feel better about crappy real life?"

"Aren't we the philosopher tonight? I'm sorry," she added at Chandler's glare. "It was too soon, wasn't it?" She wrapped her arms around him and he shifted so that his head rested on her shoulder and his body curled into hers. "Promise me something."

"All the pieces of my shattered existence are yours." he answered automatically.

She ignored his self deprecation and plunged ahead. "Promise me you won't quit eating again."

His brow furrowed. "When did I quit eating?"

"Do you remember how much weight you lost after you and Janice broke up? It was a little scary. At one point, you couldn't have weighed more than 150 pounds. It didn't seem to matter how much I tried to feed you. You ate, but you still looked...you looked unwell. You didn't seem to perk up until the summer, right around the time we all went to the beach house. I don't know if that's just how long it took for you or if it was spending more time outside or what, but that was months and months. I was worried about you." she finished in a small voice.

Chandler looked away uncomfortably. "I didn't do it on purpose. It just sort of happened. You know how people say they lost weight? In my case, I really did. I misplaced it, and it took months to find it again."

"Well, you look good now, so please keep it that way."

"I'm glad this breakup agrees with me." he responded with a touch of annoyance.

"Chandler, come on!" Monica whacked him on the shoulder. Startled, he met her intense gaze and was even more surprised to find a hint of tears.

He nodded solemnly. "Okay. I promise I'll take care of myself. And I'll eat everything you put in front of me."

Monica let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "Thank you. I'll hold you to it."

"I have no doubt. Why didn't you say anything last year?"

Now it was Monica's turn to look uncomfortable. "You didn't exactly appreciate my input the year before when we were workout buddies. Besides, body weight isn't exactly my favorite topic. There is no good way to bring it up to someone. Trust me, I've heard them all."

Chandler nodded again and they settled into each other's arms once more. Monica broke the silence. "If I haven't already said it enough times, I'm really sorry things ended so badly with Kathy. That's twice now I've seen you put everything you have into a relationship and either those women were too stupid to see what you gave them, or they didn't care enough. Either way, they were completely unworthy of you."

"No they weren't. I'm just bad at this."

"This wasn't your fault." she said emphatically. "And if your next girlfriend doesn't fully appreciate all that you are, I will personally kick her ass."

That earned her a genuine smile. "I'd pay to see that. And thank God you're in my corner. I'd hate to stare down the business end of your hissy fit." Then he sobered. "She'll have to be something special to get me out there again."  
Monica tightened her arms around him. "You deserve something special."

"I'm glad someone thinks so." They both stifled yawns. Reluctantly, Chandler disentangled himself. "I should go."

"To your bed, not to your chair." Monica replied, as they both stood and stretched.

"Yes, Mom." he said with a smile and made his way to the door.

"Come over for breakfast."

"I wouldn't miss it."

 **Author's Note: It always seemed like a missed opportunity to me that Matthew Perry's weight fluctuations throughout the series were never incorporated into the story. We never get so much as a throw away line about how much married life and Monica's cooking agree with Chandler. We were probably meant to see it as only happening to the actor and not the character. But I'd like to think that if it were part of the character then his friends would take notice.**


End file.
